Spring catch



April 18, 1950 D. A. MORAND SPRING CATCH Filed April 14, 1945 mm 7 kn m fia w 5 Patented Apr. 18,1959 1 U N TED STAT PAT EN T OFFICE SPRING CATCH Donald A. Morand, Bflrtland, Greg. Application April 14, 19415, Serial*No.-58-8,365

1 Claim. (Cl. aim-+128 This invention relatesgenerally to hardware I and particularly to a spring catch.

The main object of this invention is to pro- 'vide a spring catch especially adapted for use on caskets, whichhas an improved action in that it is smoother in operation and eliminates all banging in the closin of the casket.

The second object is to so construct the catch as to eliminate a large amount of the breakage commonly occurring in such devices.

The third object is to provide a spring catch which will be made of a minimum number of parts and will be extremely easy to assemble, and when once assembled, it will be so interlocking that it cannot be accidentally disassembled.

The fourth object is to construct a catch of the class described which will be easy to build and in which the parts are so united as to provide the maximum amount of strength with the least amount of stress on the individual members.

The fifth object is to permit the use of a narrow base plate making the device especially adaptable for thin walled and small sized caskets.

The sixth object is to avoid the delay and expense ordinarily occasioned when a catch breaks after a latch is in place.

The seventh object is to provide an improved form of spring which will expedite the assembling of the device and reduce the size of the slot required for the positioning thereof.

I accomplish these and other objects in a manner set forth in the following specification as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan of the device.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1 with a portion broken away in vertical section.

Fig. 3 is an irregular vertical section taken along the broken line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 4.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Before entering into an explanation of this invention, it will be understood that these devices are used principally to hold down the covers of caskets and the main advantages arising from their construction are most apparent in connection with this class of containers, although it is obvious that they can be used for other purposes as well. The description, therefore, will be limited to the catch itself.

Referring particularly to my invention, same will be seen to consist of a base plate It), the major portion-of which .is'circular in form in order that it may be placedin a boredrecess, and having one straightedge I I which confo'rms to a casket cover side. The'usualscrew holes I2 are provided.

In the plate Ill is formed an opening I3 which is somewhat rectangular in form except that one side I I has an inturned lug I5 between the sides I6. Extending upwardly through the plate It is a U-shaped frame I! whose legs I8 are somewhat Wider than the distance between the side I4 and the side IQ of the opening I3.

The legs I8 are narrowed to form shoulders 20 which engage the under sides of the sides I4 of the opening I3.

Each leg I3 is divided at its upper end, one portion 2i consisting of an ear having a curved side 22 which is an arc struck from the corner 23 at the lower edge of the side I9. The second portion of the leg I8 constitutes a standard 24 Whose lower edge 25 is slightly relieved to facilitate the insertion of the leg I8 into the opening 13. The

standard 24 is provided with perforation 26.

The portion of the device thus far described is now assembled by inserting the legs I8 into the opening I3 with a rocking motion about the corner 23 after which the projections 2| are bent outwardly as shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

It will be noted here that there is only one standard 24-the other one being cut away along the top surface of the plate I0.

It can be seen that while the edge 25 and the projections 2I prevent he frame I! from escaping downwardly, the shoulders 20 prevent the upward movement of the frame through the opening I3.

It will be desirable in most instances to permit the side I9 to extend a short distance into the edges 27 of the legs I8.

Referring now to the movable member of the device, same will be seen to consist of a hook 28 mounted on the lower end of the arm 29 which is pivotally mounted on the rivet 30 which journals in the perforation 26 in the standard 24. The head 3| of the rivet 39 is somewhat enlarged and spaced from the standard 24 to receive one-half a turn 32 of a spring 33 whose end 34 curves under the end 35 which is integral with the arm 29.

The opposite end 36 of the spring 33 rests upon the top side of the plate I0. A handle 31 of any desired shape is provided for the arm 29 and is preferably formed by twisting the metal at the bend 38 as shown.

The rivet 30 has its end 39 flattened to complete the assembly.

There is indicated in dotted lines the position of a latch plate 40 which forms no part of the present invention.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this 'is an exceedingly strong and yet easily operated latch, the ultimate success of which is dependent in a large measure upon the details set forth in the following claim. a

Attention is drawn to prior Patent 2,394,395 issued February 5, 1946, over which the device described herein is an improvement.

I claim:

A spring catch of the class described having a circular base, one side of which is flattened, and having a rectangular opening formed therethrough, one side of said opening being parallel with the flattened side and provided with a projection extending into said rectangular opening, a U-shaped frame disposed on the under side of said plate and formed of a flat material, the width of said frame exceeding the width of said rectangular opening in a direction normal to said flat side, a portion of each side of said frame being narrowed to permit each portion to occupy file of this patent:

one side of said rectangular opening, one of said narrowed frame portions extending through said plate to form a standard, said standard having a hole formed therethrough, a rivet extending through said hole, a latch hook pivotally mounted on said rivet, a lever on said latch hook, an extension formed on said latch hook opposite said lever, a spring on said pivot having one end on the underside of said extension and the other end resting on the top side of said plate.

DONALD A. MORAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the UNITED STATES PATENTS 

